


Prepping for Takeoff

by WolfenM



Series: The Journeymen [1]
Category: Iron Fist (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brotherhood, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Character Study, Episode Tag, Families of Choice, Fear of Flying, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene, Possibly Pre-Slash, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Season Finale, Season/Series 02, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 16:18:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16044047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfenM/pseuds/WolfenM
Summary: Danny convinces Ward to come travelling with him. (A missing scene from the end ofIron FistSeason 2.)





	Prepping for Takeoff

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Danny Rand / Iron Fist and Ward Meachum © Marvel Entertainment. Not used with permission; if you don't like this fic, blame me, not Marvel!
> 
> Some context for the story, in case you've forgotten the scene: At the end of Season 2, Danny decided, with the help of a bill of lading he'd found, to go find out where Davos' supplier had gotten the body of a dead Iron Fist from. Ward confronted him outside the plane, upset that Danny was leaving; Danny being determined to go, they continued the conversation inside the plane. Danny suggested that Ward should come with him, in order to find the man Ward wants to become. Ward balked, but Danny replied, firmly and smiling, "You're coming with me."

Danny wasn't the least bit surprised when his friend, sighing, made a call to his assistant, surrendering to Danny's request. 

"Hey, Katie, it's me. I'm, uh ... well, I'm going to ... wherever the hell in Asia Danny's going." 

"... You're _what??_ " came Katie's reply, as loud as if Ward had her on speakerphone. " _Who's going to run things??_ " 

"I am?" Ward replied, wincing. He cleared his throat, and spoke ... well, at least a little more authoritatively. "Look, I don't need to actually physically be there -- there's nothing going on that I can't teleconference for. If I need to sign anything, you can just email it to me. So don't worry, okay? Everything's going to be fine." He paused. "Yes, I'm aware that the meetings will be in the middle of the night for me -- that's actually better. I mean, I'm a night-owl, really!" He laughed, but the strain was crystal clear. "I'll call you again when we get settled. Good night, Katie." Ending the call, he rubbed his temple. "I can't believe you talked me into this," he grumbled. 

"See, you know four things about yourself already!" Danny pointed out cheerfully, affectionately amused by how Ward was simultaneously supportive and cranky. 

"Oh, I do, do I? And what would those things be?" Ward asked dryly. 

Danny raised a finger. "You're dedicated to your work." 

"That's easy to be, when I have nothing else in my life," Ward countered. 

Danny raised another finger. "You're responsible." 

Ward chuckled. "Would you tell that to my ex-girlfriend?" 

Danny winced. " _Ex?_ You mean Bethany?" 

Ward nodded ruefully. "'Fraid so. And _no_ , I _don't_ want to talk about it ... yet. Okay?" 

Danny nodded, encouraged by the 'yet'. He raised a third finger. "You're adaptable." 

Ward nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose one has to be, dealing with a revenant father and super-powered friends." 

Danny grinned, then raised the fourth finger. "You're a good friend." 

"What, because I'm dropping everything to fly halfway around the world and chase a papertrail for a corpse with you? Eh, I'm doing this for _me_ , to 'find my path' or something, remember? A great excuse to get out of the office, if there ever was one!" 

Danny's smile grew soft. "I heard you yelling at the pilot. I haven't done much with Rand in ages -- you wouldn't have needed me there. You didn't want me to go because you'd _miss_ me. Maybe even _worry_ about me." 

Ward looked down at his hands, suddenly bashful. "Yeah, well ... _someone_ has to babysit you." His lips only curled partway for a second, quickly falling. 

Danny suddenly sensed there was more to why Ward was so upset about Danny leaving -- probably to do with Bethany, or maybe Joy, but maybe not -- but the pilot came out of the cockpit just then. 

"There's a window opening on the runway, if you gentlemen are ready to leave ...." the man informed them. 

Danny raised a questioning brow at Ward. "Did you want us to wait while you go pack a bag?" 

Ward shook his head, waving a hand. "I'll just grab some stuff somewhere after we land." 

"Off we go, then," Danny told the pilot, who nodded and retreated -- after casting a wary eye on Ward. 

Ward apparently caught the look. "I should probably apologise to him, shouldn't I?" he remarked, looking pained. 

Danny felt the plane suddenly jerk as the plane started to move, and gripped the armrests in a white-knuckled grip, without even thinking about it. "Maybe after we get where we're going?" He didn't like how his voice cracked on the last word. 

Ward came to sit beside him. "Hey, are you gonna be okay doing this?" he asked, looking deeply worried. "I mean ...." 

It made Danny feel a bit better, knowing the man really cared. Considering Ward had tried to kill him not long after Danny had first come back to Rand -- or the fact that Ward had bullied him when they were kids -- to see Ward being so kind to him now ... well, Danny had to have done _something_ right, hadn't he? 

Danny took a deep breath and nodded, relaxing his grip. "Yeah, I just ... I was caught off-guard. Claire taught me some techniques to, ah ... deal with the PTSD." 

Ward looked skeptical, then glanced down at Danny's closest hand and took hold of it. "You squeeze if you need to. Just, uh ... try not to break my fingers." 

Danny gave a small snort, then squeezed gently. "Thank you, Ward. Not just for this, either, but for coming with me at _all_." 

"Eh, what are big brothers for?" Ward replied with a shrug, settling down in his seat and closing his eyes without letting go. 

Danny grinned, wondering if Ward could ever understand how much that sentiment meant to him -- that Ward finally saw him now as family, as much as Danny had always seen Ward.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a sequel partially written, and an idea for a third and a fourth (we'll see if I get to them, since I have two other ongoing fics I need to attend to). I MAY write a fifth, adult/slashy installment, but if I do, it will be for AO3 members only; otherwise, for the rest of the series, I leave the reader free to decide if the boys' relationship is platonic or not. :P


End file.
